Our View: Qualities the next Rockford Public Library director needs

Saturday

Aug 2, 2014 at 5:30 PM

By RRSTAR.COM Editorial Board

The next executive director of the Rockford Public Library needs to embrace the future, yet respect the past. He or she needs to be an ambassador, not just for the library but for education, lifelong learning and literacy in a community that seems to finally understand the importance of those things.

It may sound simple, but the library director is an important position as the community tries to transform itself into a more desirable place to live.

The Rockford Public Library Board of Trustees is looking to replace Frank Novak, who left in April to become director of the Huntley Area Public Library District.

Library leaders held a public forum Monday night to hear from local people what they wanted in a library director. No one from the public showed up, so we’re offering a few insights of our own.

Libraries, especially in cities such as Rockford, are more important than ever. People need to have the tools to improve their quality of life — tools the library has that too often go unused.

A Pew Internet and American Life Project study in 2013 showed 95 percent of Americans ages 16 and older think that public libraries are important because they promote literacy and a love of reading. However, 20 percent said they don’t know very much about what is offered, and 10 percent say they know “nothing at all.”

Almost two-thirds of the Rockford population doesn’t have an active library card. Those are people whose taxes go toward paying for library services but who do not make use of those services. The next director needs to attract those residents, let them know how the library can help and encourage them to use the library system.

The library is much more than traditional hard-cover books. Library experts say a good, modern library should promote knowledge creation, not just knowledge consumption. A library brings the world to the community but should also bring the community to itself. Libraries should be community centers that reflect the communities they serve.

That last sentence brings us to what we think is an essential requirement for a new director: He or she must live here. The new director should invest and be invested in the community.

Rockford and its people have their nuances, things that can’t be understood unless a person lives here. The new director needs to be as visible and outspoken as any elected official in the area.

Novak lived in Woodstock. During his eight years in Rockford, library trustees urged him to spend more time in the community and get to know patrons better.

He survived a 32-1 no confidence vote in 2012. Union officials said the vote was the result of a complete breakdown of communication between the staff and Novak.

The next director must be an excellent communicator with staff and public alike. He or she must become the “face” of the library. Library Board Chairman Paul Logli became the defacto face of the library because Novak did not fully commit to Rockford. Logli has his hands full as the president/CEO of United Way.

The next director will have plenty of challenges. About 35,000 people in Winnebago County don’t have a high school diploma or GED. At least 10 percent of adults in the county are illiterate. The library has a role in reducing those numbers.

The Rockford Public Library, founded in 1872 as the second library in Illinois, has seven facilities, including the Nordlof Center, the downtown Main Library on Wyman Street and five branch libraries.

The future of those facilities will be another challenge for the new director. The library is looking to vacate its main library branch in downtown Rockford either temporarily or permanently so that ComEd can conduct an environmental remediation of the site.

There also is the question whether so much physical space is needed in an increasingly digital age.

Library officials expect to have identified finalists for the job by the end of this month. Candidate interviews are slated for September. It’s critical for the future of the library and the future of Rockford that the right person be chosen.